#spoiler alert: he ripped it VERY hard

[doodleferp]

New year, new Madds! This is my second time utilizing After Effects and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Compressing it to put on Tumblr, though.....made me angy.

Bweg belongs to @eldritch-spouse

[explorevenus]

something permanent ♡ yandere!leon kennedy x reader

nsfw (18+) - minors pls dni i will scream

this is a dark fic for a multitude of reasons. if any of the following bothers/triggers you, do not read: yandere!leon, stalking, kidnapping, drugging, corruption/training, forced daddy kink, noncon, forced breeding, body horror, gore, & blood

in other words-- DEAD DOVE, DO NOT EAT.

ahem. now that that’s over.

word count - 4.4k

description - nothing in leon’s life was ever permanent and his life circumstances made sure of that. over the years he was beaten down from a bright-eyed rookie police officer to a weary and angry shell of his former self. when a chance meeting brought you into his life, he knew what he had to do. he knew you had to be something permanent.

tags/warnings - yandere!leon, dark!leon, leon being patronizing and condescending and sickly sweet, fem/afab!reader, stalking, kidnapping, drugging, corruption/training, forced daddy kink, pet names (doll, sweetheart, princess, baby, puppy, etc.), noncon, forced breeding, housewife kink, body horror (spoiler alert he rips your IUD out with his bare hands), slight gore, blood, noncon, stockholm syndrome if u squint, dollification if u squint, descriptions of vomiting, no use of (Y/N)

a/n - ok i genuinely don’t know if anyone even wants this but i personally find it egregious how little yandere!leon content exists out there in this world because listen. i know a lot of people consider leon submissive and breedable but personally i believe this broken angry man just wants a sweet little thing to dote on and take care of to make him forget about the horrors of his life and he will stop at nothing to make that happen ♡ anyways. enjoy. and if it’s not ur cup of tea idc keep scrolling :^)

p.s. this is obviously a very canon-deviant, borderline crack fic so it’s not really established which leon this is outside of referring to the events of re2 being a long time ago, so go wild with your interpretation of that to read this as whichever leon is ur favorite ♡ i personally like to imagine post-re4 or infinite darkness leon !! ;w;

read part 2 here !! ♡

my masterlist ♡

my ao3 ♡

fic under the cut, thanks so much for reading and i hope u enjoy ♡

-venus ♡

You were slow to wake, which wasn't particularly unusual... as of late, but your body felt so heavy, like your muscles had dissolved into mush overnight. Consciousness gradually took its hold of you, and as it did, you began to realize that something seemed off. Different. Wrong, even. You peeked your eyes open, vision blurry with sleep, but you could see you were beneath your pink comforter, a plush of yours held closely to your chest, all normal so far...

But your walls aren't navy blue, they're white... They're supposed to be white--

You jolted wide awake, panic coursing through your weak body as you struggled to even sit up. That's when you noticed an unfamiliar, muscular arm draped over your waist, and that dialed up your anxiety about tenfold. It was hard to move, but you were able to turn your head enough to catch a look at the man it belonged to.

Strong, blond, maybe a bit tired in the eyes... maybe a bit familiar looking... but you were crying now, blurring your sight all over again.

"Shh, shh... you're okay, sweetheart, you're safe now," He hushed, holding you closely to him as you struggled. Smooching the top of your head, he spoke into your messy hair, "I've got you. I've got you, princess."

But... how? The last thing you remembered was tucking into your own bed, in your own apartment, and falling asleep there, how could you have possibly wound up in a stranger's bed with zero recollection of ever leaving yours? Your head spun as you tried and failed to fend off the unwanted affection with weak arms. His hold on you didn't dare budge as he continued to coo softly into your ear, to reassure you that you were safe, that he wouldn't let anyone, or anything, hurt you.

The anxiety stewing within you finally reached a tipping point, twisting your stomach into tight knots, and that's when you spoke your first words since you'd awoken. "I-I'm gonna throw up," You wept, clawing weakly at the covers and, well, at him, for freedom. 

Thankfully he was quick to act, scooping you into his arms as he sat up and rose from the bed, carrying you to the adjoined bathroom. When he turned the light on, you managed to get a better look at his face as you passed by the mirror, and it took you a second to recognize him, partly due to your state of delirium, but primarily because you only knew him very vaguely. You had only met him once at work many months ago, when he'd sparked up a conversation with you as you made him his coffee. After that, he became a regular at the café you worked at-- you remembered his name was Leon.

So why were you waking up in his bed, with your belongings lying around like you'd lived here the whole time?

Your knees hit the tile and you began retching immediately, flinching as he reached forward to collect your hair away from your face. Puking on an empty stomach is never a fun time, but your nerves were alight with panic and every time you reminded yourself of your predicament, a new wave of nausea would crash over you. He rubbed your back sweetly, but it didn't help.

Once the vomiting eventually subsided, an awful, hollow pain took place of it. Your thoughts were running at a thousand miles per hour. You didn't have the time to acknowledge it, let alone nurse it, outside of clutching your shirt at the waist. 

"Let me get you some water, babe," Leon said as he hesitantly stood from your side, eyeing you worriedly like you'd just fall to pieces if he let you out of his sight. "You poor thing..."

But all you could think about was getting out of here. "N-No, no, what time is it? I have to get to work--"

"I don't think so, sweetheart," He interrupted. "You're sick, you should be in bed."

"I'm fine," Much to the protest of your jellied legs, you pushed yourself up from the floor and fought through the head rush in an attempt to slip past him, but he simply caught you at the waist and brought you to a halt. Your ears were ringing, the room spinning around you, and you still weren't sure how to interpret what was even going on here. "L-Let go of me!" You cried out.

He simply hushed you, holding you tightly to his chest and petting your hair as you writhed, failing miserably to get him off of you. "Don't worry about work, okay? Just rest up and get better. I'll call them for you."

Your stomach sank even further-- what the fuck is happening right now? 

Despite your thrashing he managed to lead you back to the bed as gently as one would fine china, scooping you up into his arms so he could lay you down exactly where you'd awoken earlier. Your chest heaved with sobs as you shrank into yourself in an effort to get away from him.

His eyes left you for just a moment as he reached for the covers, no doubt to tuck you in-- in a split second decision, you seized that time to scramble out of his bed and break for the door. Sadly, as perhaps you should have seen coming, he was more than strong and fast enough to catch up to you, even caught off guard. As soon as your shaking hand made contact with the cool metal doorknob, he halted you where you stood with a bruising grip on your bicep.

You cried out, trying in vain to peel yourself away from him, but it was no use.

"Come on, silly baby, you heard me," He tsked, dragging you back toward the bed. "No need to be running off anywhere, especially on a sour stomach."

"P-Please--" You gasped through tears.

"I'm sorry, little one, but that's final," Leon hummed with a patronizing but oddly sweet tone. It was as if he were scolding a temperamental child.

He basically wrestled you back into the bed, enveloping you tightly in his arms as he laid down beside you. You struggled against his grasp, but again, it was absolutely no use. He simply pet your hair and pressed soft kisses along your cheek and jaw, attempting to soothe you with restraint and unwanted affection. 

You sucked in a labored breath, hiccupping, "Don't do this to me, please don't do this to me... I-I just wa-wanna go home, jus' wanna go h-home... Leon please--"

"Shh... oh, good heavens. You are home, princess," He mused, brushing away a stream of your hot tears with his thumb. "You'll see. Just relax and let me take care of you."

Nothing in Leon's life was ever permanent.

All he'd ever wanted was the American dream, to serve his community and meet a pretty girl to share his life with, to settle down in a big house with a fenced yard and two or three little Kennedys running around, maybe a dog. What he wouldn't give to come home at the end of a long day to his beautiful wife, belly swollen with his children, preparing dinner in the kitchen while the existing little ones play with their toys in the other room.

He would enter, slipping off his shoes with a relaxed sigh and a "Honey, I'm home!" to which the aforementioned little ones would rush to the door to hug him at his knees. He'd put one up on his shoulders while the other tugged at his hand, turning into the kitchen to give his beautiful wife a kiss. She would ask of his day and he would say it was good, but better now that he's home with her. With his free hand he would cradle her belly and ask "What's for dinner, you two?" to which she would reply "Your favorite," and as he smiled and thanked her with a kiss he would be silently plotting to thank her properly after the kids are asleep by fucking her full of his cum.

That was all he'd ever wanted. But, day after day after god forsaken day, the chance grew slimmer and slimmer until it had shriveled into something molecular. He didn't even get through his first day at the police station before everything went to shit.

Because of this, Leon began to lose himself over the years. He was no longer the bright-eyed rookie officer looking forward to his even brighter future. He was a broken man, worn down to the bone by years of death, plague, losing everyone he'd ever loved in one way or another-- Leon couldn't take the loss anymore. He wanted-- no, needed-- something permanent, something to give him even the slightest taste of that dream he once had.

When he met you, it wasn't even a question anymore. He knew you were the one. One way or another, he would have you.

He couldn't court you in the traditional way, of course-- it was too dangerous for you to be seen with him. After all, everything he'd ever touched had a way of turning to shit. So, it began with following you home after work so he'd know where you lived. Soon after that he would let himself in when you weren't home-- you weren't smart enough not to keep your key under the mat, furthering how sure he felt that you needed him to take care of you-- he would take little things of yours home with him just to have your scent around.

At first it was just little things like near-empty bottles of shampoo and stray pairs of panties from your laundry basket. Then it was sweaters from your closet, chewed gum and used flossers from your trash can. He'd pay close attention to your grocery lists and what you kept in your pantry so he'd know what kind of food you liked. 

When you did come home, he would sneak out quietly and watch you through your windows, familiarizing himself with your routine. The first thing you'd do when you came home from a long day of work was kick off your heels and change into something comfortable to do your yoga. After a while, you'd pull yourself up from the pink mat and cook dinner. After you'd eat, you'd relax with a book or a video game for a bit before taking a shower and changing into pajamas. Then, you'd brew yourself a mug of tea and retire to the bedroom for the evening where you'd watch documentaries or put on white noise until you eventually fell asleep.

At 7:00 a.m., you'd wake up in the morning and do it all over again.

All he could think about was what he'd do when he finally had you all to himself. Under his roof, you would never have to work another day in your life. Gone would be the days of pouring coffee and baking pastries for random idiots who treated you like shit. All you would ever have to worry about is being pampered, having your entire day to yourself, waiting for him to come home, spending all the money on his credit cards.

And carrying his children, of course.

So, as he held you tightly in his arms while you sobbed and begged to go back to that tiny apartment, all he could think about now was how to fix this. How to convince you he really loved you, how to make you feel truly at home.

The first few weeks were hard for him. Really, really hard.

You were refusing to eat, laying wide awake at night, swinging rapidly between sobbing, screaming and complete apathy. Sometimes he would come into the bedroom and catch you fiddling with the window, or attempting to circumvent the lock on the door by stuffing the mechanism with tissue. You would hit him, kick at him and spit in his face, even as you grew weaker and weaker with malnourishment, not that you really stood a chance before that anyway.

Still, it was hard to watch you shrink in your clothes. It was hard to see your cheeks hollowing by the day. It was hard to hold back your brittle hair while you'd vomit from the nerves, still trying to fight him off of you. It was hard to watch your body tense every time he entered the room.

Just when he'd began to lose hope, he discovered a neat little tool to help you behave. In some countries it was called "devil's breath." The slightest bit of powder could be sprinkled into your water, or over your food, or even into your clothes-- it absorbs through the skin-- and within minutes it would render you quite pliable. Leon didn't want to drug you, of course-- he liked you better when you were lucid-- but it certainly felt like a good place to start, a helpful tool to train you.

When he'd give you a dose, you would let him coddle you without incident. You would lay limp on his chest while he played with your hair and felt your soft skin beneath your shirt. You would allow him to spoon food or tip water into your mouth. You would let him dress you up like his perfect little dolly. You would blush and whimper and whine, and more importantly, not fight him, while he fucked you full of his cum, just like his dream.

There was just one problem-- after about two months of trying daily, it would seem his seed wasn't taking.

Your heart pounded in your ears as the sound of Leon's footsteps nearing the bedroom door grew louder. You glanced over at the clock-- it was 6:15. He was off work for the evening and you knew what that meant.

The lock clicked quietly before the door creaked open, revealing your captor.

"Honey, I'm home!" He smiled excitedly, approaching the bed with a glass of water in hand.

You knew it was for you. You knew he had done something to it. You also knew you didn't intend to drink it.

"W-Welcome home, daddy," You said in a near whisper, forcing a half-smile. While you had definitely lost the majority of the fight in you, that didn't mean it didn't nauseate you to comply with his wishes. "Did you have a good day?"

Tucking your hair behind your ear, he offered you the glass of water while he replied as he always did, "My day was fine, but it's so much better now that I'm home with you, princess."

You smiled at him like it was the first time he'd ever said it, taking the glass with a shaking hand. You stared at it for a moment before mustering up the courage to say, "D-Daddy, I don't want the medicine anymore. I don't think I need it, and it doesn't make me feel good."

"You don't want your medicine anymore, baby?" He asked, tipping your chin up to look at him. You shook your head, rounding your eyes to convince him that much more. "Well, alright, but you have to promise to behave for me."

Now you were nodding, a little bit too eagerly. It was sort of humiliating. "I promise, daddy, I'll behave! I don't want the medicine anymore. I promise I'll be good."

With a proud grin he took the glass from your hand and set it on the nightstand, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "That's what I like to hear, babydoll. You know, good little girls get rewarded..." His large hand spread over your thigh, inching up toward the hem of your baggy shirt.

You stiffened, but didn't push him away. He smirked, dipping his head down to kiss at your neck, large hand sliding up your shirt until he nudged it up enough to pull it off. You were bare for him now, save for panties, and given your experience with him you knew it wouldn't be long until those were discarded somewhere across the room. With a gentle hand at your shoulder he pushed you onto your back, your legs hanging off the side of the bed, and you were curious where he was going with that until he sank to his knees in front of you and began pulling your panties down.

Your eyes screwed shut, thankful that he couldn't see your face as he spread your thighs and greeted your cunt with a slow lick up the length of you. You gripped the sheets with white knuckles, pretty much holding your breath to keep yourself from kicking him away from you. His fingertips buried into the plush skin of your thighs to hold you apart as he began to eat you out more passionately, suckling your clit up into his mouth and lapping at your hole like he was starving.

If there was one thing you would give him credit for, it would be his skilled tongue. Perhaps he was crazy and obsessed, but he certainly knew how to translate that obsession into something that benefitted you both. You wouldn't have succumbed to it so willingly if he weren't at least good at it.

Still, it was hard to feel any enthusiasm. His attention might have felt good physically, but it certainly didn't feel good mentally. 

You flinched when you felt a fingertip prodding at your cunt. He pulled away just far enough to tsk, "Relax and let me make you feel good, puppy. You said you would behave for me."

"Y-Yes, daddy," You muttered, continuing to clutch the sheets as you tried to control your breathing.

His thick index finger sank into you down to the knuckle, almost immediately curling up to brush against the spongy spot within you that made you see stars. As much as you tried to fight it you gasped, quickly bringing a hand up to cover your mouth, but the sound you'd made hadn't slipped past Leon. You felt him smirk against your skin as he pressed sloppy kisses to your thigh, reaching up with his free hand to force yours away from your face.

"Don't be shy, princess," He spoke against the inside of your thigh, trailing kisses up to your clit. "I want to hear just how good it feels."

You whimpered, hips squirming into his affection, and he chuckled approvingly, bringing his mouth back to you fully to continue eating you out while he fucked his finger into you. Soon after his index finger was joined by his middle, and you keened as he reached more deeply into you than he possibly ever had.

He pumped his fingers in and out for a moment, alternating between lapping at your cunt and kissing your thighs, and just as the coil inside began to tighten he suddenly... stopped?

You waited for a second, catching your breath, expecting him to continue any minute. But he didn't. Instead, he took on a tone that froze your blood as he asked, "Sweetheart, what is this?"

Then, you felt a sharp tug at your insides that made you yelp.

"Leon!" You shouted at him in a break of character, attempting to scoot away from him, but he grabbed your hips to still you. "That hurt!"

Another tug. You cried out, trying as you might to snap your thighs shut and push him away, but he wasn't budging.

"You never told me you had an IUD."

"Well, I do, so stop yanking on it! It hurts--"

The next words out of his mouth truly fucking broke you.

"That just won't do. It's no wonder you're not pregnant yet."

You sat up immediately. "Pregnant?"

He ignored you, tugging at it again. You screamed.

"L-Leon, don't! I can get it taken out by a doctor, I swear, I'll get it taken out!"

He shook his head. "And wait even longer to knock you up, pretty girl? Not happening. It's coming out now."

You screamed again, thrashing in his hold. He withdrew from inside you for just a moment, pinning you to the bed by your hip while he reached for your panties on the floor and shoved them into your mouth to silence you.

"There, there, angel. It'll be over before you know it, like ripping off a band-aid," He hummed, pressing a kiss to your forehead as you screeched through the cotton. "I'm gonna give you my babies, I promise. Gonna make you a mommy, and we’ll be so happy."

Before you could properly react he forced his fingers back inside you, yanking at the device until you felt a sickening tear and the unmistakable heat of blood rushing out of you. You curled into yourself, wailing, gasping for breath through the panties in your mouth as he withdrew his blood-soaked fingers, holding up the gory IUD in the light.

"There you are, princess. All better," He smiled contently, discarding the device on the bedside table. "You did so good. You were so brave for me."

You were bawling, shrieking through your gag as your vision blurred into white. Leon kissed up your thighs before standing to unbuckle his belt, and he didn't get much further than that before the panic and agonizing pain got to you and you lost consciousness.

You woke up the next morning with your thighs sore and sticky with blood. You lifted the comforter to see a deep red pool seeping out from between your legs, and the more you started to wake up, the more aware you became of the pain. You were cramping terribly, sweating buckets, your ears were ringing and you felt weak. Leon had left for work already, so it was up to you to get yourself to the bathroom.

Your entire body was trembling as you stumbled out of the bed, dripping blood in a trail behind you as you dragged yourself to the bathroom and crawled into the bathtub. You peeled off your pajama shorts and panties, watching in horror as a mixture of thick blood and cum spilled out of you and ran slowly toward the drain. Once again, you began to cry. Obviously he'd had his way with you after you passed out, buckets of blood be damned.

Even with your foggy, staticky brain, you couldn't stop thinking. Thinking about the fact that he had no intention of taking you to a hospital, so there was really no telling what might happen with your profusely painful and bleeding sex. Thinking about how fucking screwed you were now without your IUD, your best defense against falling pregnant with your captor's child. Thinking about the fact that if he wouldn't even take you to a doctor for this, he must be expecting a home birth if you were to become pregnant, which you doubted he was qualified to handle and therefore had a very good chance to result in your slow, painful death.

You couldn't stand the shivering anymore, so you filled the bathtub with hot water. It felt nice, though it was rather gross that the water was stained a glassy rose color with your own blood, not that you really had the strength to care in the moment.

In fact, you didn't have much strength at all. It wasn't long before you found yourself losing consciousness once again.

"Fuck, princess, can you hear me?"

You were trying to open your eyes, to twitch a finger, anything, but it was so hard.

"Shit. Stay right here, babydoll, I'm gonna get you some help, okay? I promise. I never meant to hurt you... shit...”

You heard some shuffling, pacing and possibly Leon talking to himself in the other room. You figured he was trying to decide whether or not to take you to a hospital. Part of you hoped he would and the other part of you hoped he would just let you die there. More than anything, you just wished you would have let him drug you in the first place so maybe you wouldn't be in this level of pain.

After what could have very well been 20 seconds or 20 minutes, Leon kneeled beside the tub and draped a cold washcloth over your forehead, reaching into the bloodied water to pull the drain. With what little control you had over your own movement you managed to crack your eyes open, which seemed to please him.

"Oh thank god... thank god, baby. I almost thought I lost you there," He huffed, voice shaking. "Listen to me closely, princess. Stay with me. I'm going to take you to a doctor but you have to be a good girl, okay? You have to be good for me and go along with what I say, even if it isn't true. I'm just doing what's best for you so you can get all better, okay?"

You nodded weakly. You weren't in any position to put up a fight, and all you really wanted was an end to the pain. Besides, he couldn't supervise you constantly at the hospital. There had to be at least some opportunity to tell someone what he'd done to you.

He somehow managed to dress you in some comfortable clothes of his, a soft black t-shirt that hung halfway down your thighs and a pair of black shorts with some little socks of yours to protect your feet. Then, he carried you princess-style out to the car where he bundled you up in the passenger seat and buckled you in.

As he pulled hurriedly out of the driveway, he made a phone call to someone.

"Hey, it's me... I need the best people we have in the infirmary, stat. I'm on my way now," He spoke sternly into the phone, white knuckling the wheel. "I'm fine, it's not for me, it's my girlfriend. It's a long story that I'll tell you when I get there, but she's bleeding pretty bad. I found her unconscious when I came home... I appreciate it, thanks. See you in 10."

Leon reached over the center console to squeeze your thigh in reassurance.

"You're gonna be just fine, princess. I'm gonna make sure they make you all better, okay?"

Your stomach sank. He obviously wasn't taking you to a hospital. From the sounds of it he was taking you somewhere he had a good amount of leverage, somewhere everyone knew him, held him in high regard and wouldn't dare challenge his word, let alone take yours over his. You slumped to the side, resting your head on the cool window with a quiet bonk. Leon was quick to ask if you were okay but you couldn't muster up a response. Your ears began ringing again and the world around you collapsed into tunnel vision.

part 2 !!

[haddonfieldwhore]

dating ethan landry

nsfw mentioned briefly

this is garbage i’m sorry - not edited

🔪❗️SPOILERS FOR SCREAM 6 ❗️🔪

🔪❗️SPOILERS FOR SCREAM 6 BELOW❗️🔪

* your mutual friend anika introduced the two of you soon after you started college

* ethan was very shy and awkward when talking to you at first, but in an endearing way

* you had a few classes together and were both happy to know somebody / have someone to sit with

*

* chad immediately tries to set you two up together no matter how much ethan says you’re just friends

* studying in the library together

* sitting on a couch in the library, your legs in ethan’s lap as you both read your books or proofread each others essays/assignments

*

* the rest of the friend group figures out that you two like eachother before either of you do

* ethan would be nervous to ask you out, but one night at a party that chad had dragged the two of you along to, after a few drinks things started…. developing between you two

* the two of you were deserted by your friends and left alone in the kitchen with the alcohol, and a few shots later he finally gained the courage to kiss you

*

* sitting in ethan’s lap when there’s no room on the couch for everyone (and even when there is) >>>

* it just becomes your spot when hanging out with the group and no one questions it because they’re all waiting for the two of you to get together already

* he’s quite tall, so if your standing together he loves resting his chin in the top of your head/on your shoulder and wrapping his arms around you from behind

*

* keeping your developing relationship a secret from everyone at first (his hand on your knee under the table in the library, flirty texting eachother when no one’s looking, walking behind everyone so you can hold hands)

* you both deciding it’s best to take things slow in case it doesn’t work out; not wanting to ruin your friendship

* you both fall hard though- your obsessed with eachother

*

* chad somehow not growing suspicious of how often you are coming over to their dorm to “study” with ethan (bless him)

* despite lack of experience before you, let’s just say ethan gets plenty of practice at certain…. extracurricular activities

*

* gently playing with his curls while he lays with his head in your lap

* not so gently tugging on them as his lips and teeth leave love bites across your neck and collarbones

* loves leaving his mark on you (bite marks, fingerprints, scratches, hickeys) even though you are still keeping the fact that you’re dating a secret

*

* leave scratches down his back- he goes feral

* not usually loud as not to alert chad to what’s really going on in his bedroom (it sure ain’t studying for econ) but will whisper the filthiest things in your ear

* he sometimes gets a little shy afterwards, his cheeks a light shade of pink as he holds you close

* assure him that he did a good job and he is fine though, kissing the top of your head as you both drift off to sleep

*

* you end up stealing ethan’s clothes all the time (it’s not your fault he ripped your shirt)

* or just waking up in his t-shirt after spending the night and not bothering to give it back

*

* once the ghostface attacks start happening, it obviously complicates things for ethan, since he does truly have feelings for you

* everyone finding out you’re together after you can’t help but pull ethan into a kiss when you reunite in the morning after the apartment attack

* ethan is just happy you made it out relatively unharmed, only a few very minor injuries (wonder why)

* mindy accusing and being suspicious of everyone but leaning hard on ethan puts a rift in your friendship with her

*

* being scared to die, but equally as scared to lose ethan

* staying at his dorm so you’re not alone and falling asleep in his arms, as he promises to protect you

“don’t worry, i won’t let anything happen to you.”

[guywrestlingaddiction]

Everything Great About a Match: Troy Baker v Shane McCall (bgeast.com)

Everything Great About a Match: +9

Troy Baker v Shane McCall (bgeast.com)

SPOILER ALERT: I highly recommend viewing this match in its entirety before reading this post.

So let's begin:  +1: For Troy... very few wrestlers have reached Troy's shredded abs level of perfection.  Now for all those  pretty guys out there who are squeamish or can't get into wrestling.  Troy has no such problem - the guy handles his face/jobber role like a man.

There are no words needed to explain the perfection that is Troy's body. 

Troy baiting his heel to get him to wrestle. 

+1: For Shane at the height of his heel prowess.  No wrestler was more experienced, more intimidating, more domineering, than Shane at the height of his heel perfection.  The guy has paid his dues as a jobber and is finally coming into his own at this point.  +A for Shane if the A stands for Asserting his will on a jobber.  

+1: The chemistry between a forcible heel and a tough as nails jobber selling this match to perfection.  What do you get when you combine a rugged, top notch heel with a pliable, take anything you can throw his way jobber - you get this masterpiece, that's what.  It's not so much a 'fight' as a testosterone fueled dance with each man knowing their roles to perfection.  

+1: Along those lines, these two pros truly know how to turn a muscled brawl into a narrative between men.  All those hard bodies are one thing but to take all that and add in the competition, the twists and turns, the adrenaline - all work to make this match legendary.  

Troy's thighs are strong enough to take down anyone ... but sometimes it's skill not strength that is king.

Troy is not going to just take it. 

+1: For this seamless Ab stretch to an over-the-knee backbreaker.  Shane absolutely is the man for pulling this off and his ability to unleash this on poor Troy is a triumph.  

Shane: What do you say? Huh?

Troy: [Groan]

Shane: Give it up! Give it up man! Troy: I ... I... 

+1: Shane knows how to humiliate his jobber.  Short of begging, Troy is made to show how useless those show muscles are against the shear tenacity of Shane.  

Something about making that cocky muscle hunk climb up your burly body to prove you're the man!

Or teaching him a lesson and making him arch his back in pain.

+1: For that Heel-turn.  Troy was simply never destined to win.  While Troy may be gifted by genetics one hundred times over, gay wrestling has a way of making things right in the world by turning those ripped golden muscles a bright shade of red, I think the exact color is punishment red to be exact.  

In a shock to the system, the unconquerable has been conquered. 

First the celebration ... More celebration with those sweaty shiny abs...

Then to add glistening muscly insult to jobber victory - Troy pours water on himself. 

Just one step too far.  You've poked the bear and will regret this Troy!

Yup celebration hangover. 

+1: For that Ending.  To further lay claim of the jobber, Shane pours more cold water on the jobber and makes the man submit over and over again until he's satisfied.  Soaking wet muscles glisten with water and Shane shows him off for all to see.  I mean what good is a victory if not to put that shiny, bronze, strong body on display like your own personal trophy.  Hell, making a Trophy jobber out of Troy is worth a bonus point there [+1].  

Soak your muscle boy until he's good and shiny

Then unleash all hell on his best assets.

A win isn't really a victory unless your opponent is so destroyed he regrets ever agreeing to the match. 

------- Everything Great About this Match: +9

So there you have it. It's really not an exaggeration when they say they don't make em like this anymore.  Where else can you see two wrestling titans in their respective levels of, overpower you heel-ness, and give you everything I got jobber-ness.  The biggest mistake of all time was when Troy seductively poured water on himself.  The man might as well shine a searchlight on that sculpted ripped body of his and announce he was ready for some heel punishment.  In the end, it's no surprise that Troy was destroyed, put on humiliating display, and claimed as Shane's personal trophy to add to his collection.  

[mossy-chaos]

These are all of the codes I could find in the Book of Bill!

The order is decoded message-page-type of cipher

Spoilers under the cut (for those of you who decode yourselves):

Black and white-back of the cover jacket-authors cipher

Even his lies are lies-inside the front cover-theraprism cipher

Praise the fallen angle-first actual page-Cipheric (this is the only time Cipheric is used for some reason)

Olaf was here-same-rune (not sure what this is a reference to)

Remember us-same-Bill's cipher

Let him in and break the seal between what's fiction and what's real-books new master-Bill's cipher

The Axolotl thinks he's won but Ciphers games have just begun-handprint page-color cipher

Irregular-fake covers(very top)-color cipher

The one who writes the codes-about me-Caeser cipher

Glotto/slotheny-Magazine cover(7 new sins)-Bill's cipher (I love the new sins lol)

Not a phase-Stanford pines here(on the goth moth)-Authors cipher-love the jack skellington reference (if thats what that is lol)

Warning/Folding this card may/result in crossovers-the universe is a hollogram-rune (Maybe that's how we finally get an owl house/gravity falls crossover)

My optometrist never saw it coming-What is a human-Theraprism

Paper is book skin/Shave your grandma-Skin-Bill's cipher

Love pain-Bill's tattoo knuckles-Same

Lies-How to trick everyone into loving you-same

Regrowing limbs is Axy's art/but can he regrow a ripped out heart-How to cheat death-Bill's cipher (he must really be mad at the Axolotl)

Eye doctor of a different kind/who wants to make his patient blind-silly straws-caesar

The doctor says/three sips a day/will make the visions/go away-Same

Fussy eater/baby Billy/wouldn't drink/unless it's silly-same (love how this implies that he only drank out of silly straws)

Mason-Embarrassing memories-Bill's cipher (love seeing Dipper's real name again)

Booberry-the meaning of life(popsicle stick)-Bill's cipher

One eyed king-the early years-theraprism

Suck it-The good times(liscense plate)-Caesar

Can warp narrativity/protect fourth walls-Alert from time baby-A1Z26

Lone survivor of the Euclidean massacre-Rune (I wonder what happened during that event and what that event actually is)

Tantrum-Bill's Cipher

Which henchmaniac ratted me out-The shaman-Theraprism (I find this one funny)

Titans blood-the dark ages(Wizards hat)-Rune (Love the owl house reference here)

Suck it Merlin-Never trust a wizard-Rune

Daryll-Cipherstitions(lobster lord of the deep)-Theraprism (love how that's his name)

Curse Wittebane-Witchcraft-Rune

It's all made up-America(the dollar)-Caesar

Countries aren't-Bill's cipher

Rubberhose-Animation-A1Z26

Bill cipher-top secret file-Same

Six fingered freak-Lost in the woods-authors cipher

Stanley would have made her laugh-same (he just rolled better charisma dude)

If lost return to Bill-my muse and me-Theraprism (love how he said this means wise one and also more billford hehe)

Forget the past-A voice from the past page 2-Bill's cipher (this implies that Bill wants Ford to forget Stanley so he won't get in the way)

Hopefully F's gloves will hide what Cipher has done to my hands-I was wrong about everything page 2-Author's Cipher (I love this one <3)

Ouroboros-Wakey wakey here's a snakey (on the snake)-Bill's Cipher (I guess this is the snakes name?)

Miss you-try to forget (on window)-bro's secret code

Have I been too harsh all along?-Should I contact S-Bro's secret code

Hotxolotl-Dimensional authority call transcript (on the sauce packet)-Bill's cipher

I can write codes too it's not that hard!-Dipper's page-Bill's cipher (he do be flexing his intelligence there)

(What a buncha) Love ya bro-Stanley's letter-Bro's secret code (love how this shows that they both still remember the code they made up as kids)

Just fit in (repeated)-SSSSTANNNNLEEEYY-Rune

Holy mackerel-color cipher

AXOLOTLLOTAXOLOTLLOTLAXLOTLAXLOTLAXOLOTLLOTLAXLOTLAXLOTLAXOLOTLLOTLAXLOTLAXLO-Theraprism

Wellwellwellbeing-message from the theraprism-A1Z26

Spheremonger, Eternalor, Bill cipher, The Logicube, Paingorious, Jessica, Shadorg, Mr Silly, The beast-recent inpatient names-Theraprism (the hallucination dog is still creepy lol)

Justice for Scrimbles/Remember Grembley-inside Back cover-Theraprism/Rune (JUSTICE FOR SCRIMBLES!!!!)

Those are all of the codes that are in this book! (Or at least that I could find lol)

[peachdues]

IN THE NETHERWOOD

The “oh fuck!” teaser

Remember when I said a no-context spoiler for part 3 was “oh fuck”?

Here it is.

Fuck. Fuck.

Douma wiped a single tear that fell down his cheek. “I’m so relieved to have finally found you, darling! You have no idea how long I’ve searched for you.”

He took a single step forward that sent you scurrying three steps back. “Get away from me,” you warned. “Go back to whatever hellhole you crawled out from.”

In a flash, he was on you, hand locked around your throat and eyes cold. “Where do you think you’re going, Y/N?” Fingers tipped with long nails — sharp, pointed, black nails — dug into the flesh of your forearm, easily piercing through the linen and suede sleeves of your blouse.

His speed had knocked the breath out of you — he’d been fast, abnormally, monstrously fast.

The horror sluiced through you as you realized no human could move that quickly; could wield the strength with which he now used to keep you rooted in place.

Douma wasn’t human.

As though he’d heard that very thought the moment it solidified in your brain, Douma smiled, revealing four, sharp fangs, longer and more wicked looking than even Sanemi’s in his half-shifted form.

He took a step closer, his sickeningly sweet breath fanning over your face as your former fiancé practically thrummed with excitement.

“The things I have planned for you,” he murmured, tracing the curve of your cheek teasingly with one clawed nail. There was a sharp prick followed by something warm.

He’d drawn blood.

Douma leaned in close and let his tongue — slimy and cold, just like his skin, trail teasingly up the line he’d drawn, humming at the taste of your blood.

“You’ll serve me well, Y/N,” Douma cooed, his hand squeezing your cheeks roughly.

“Just like all my wives have served me well; just like Kotoha.”

You could not stop yourself from swallowing, hard, as you tried but failed to find courage as death — painful and cruel looked you straight in the eyes.

Sanemi! You tossed out desperately down your bond, tugging on that internal string with all your might. Sanemi, it’s him!

You willed yourself not to cry; not to tremble, as the monster with the iridescent eyes looked at you like you were the main course of a feast made only for him.

Douma’s smile was predatory and it made your knees buckle and your resolve crumble.

You were going to die. Slowly. Painfully.

SANEMI.

The village Worship Leader trailed a hand down the side of your throat until it came to rest on that spot between your shoulder and neck. Right over the top of your mating mark.

“We can’t have him interfering before our fun begins,” Douma shook his head, his eyes mocking. “After all, I need him good and wound up when he comes for you.”

Fear melted into something more primal in your gut — something hotter, more paralyzing, that would not let you look away from his monstrous gaze no matter how much your brain begged you.

Douma hummed softly to himself as he sunk a nail into your skin, tearing easily through the layers of your cloak and tunic. You screamed as he dragged it down, directly across the mating mark Sanemi had given you all those weeks ago. The mark that was supposed to link you to him; to give you a direct line of communication to your mate when you needed him most.

Beneath the hot burst of blood that trailed Douma’s nail as he ripped your skin open, something cold washed over you, like a flame being snuffed out by a burst of winter wind.

Douma’s hand wrapped around your throat, choking off your scream.

“Sleep,” he commanded. Your stomach dropped with the realization that the Netherwood had begun to fall away as your vision tunneled.

You desperately tried to tug on the bond once more, pleadingly, to alert your Huntsman that you were well and truly doomed. But there was nothing there; no invisible string you could pull, no connection with Sanemi that you could draw upon to let him know.

As your consciousness faded, so too did any remaining hope you’d had that he would come for you.

For the mating bond had been cut.

[hyperrkylo]

CHEZ

// PHIGHTING! OC

❝ 𝐀𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 ❞

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

PROFILE

name ; Chez

pronouns ; he/him

height ; 5’4

age ; 15 1/2

birthday ; 17 April

gear ; Cheezburger

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

PERSONAL STATUS

Faction ; Factionless

Occupation(s) ; Restaurant owner / Cook

Status ; Alive

Relations ;

Cola (Sibling)

Slingshot (Rival/One-sided)

Subspace (Past-inspiration)

Ban Hammer (Despises)

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

BACKGROUND

Chez is a chaotic and hyperactive teen who is on the run from literally everyone due to his “criminal record.” He is the younger sibling of Cola and runs some type of fast food-chain; in which he gives people food poisoning and possibly killing others with the materials he puts in his food.

TIMELINE

[ TO BE ADDED ]

APPEARANCE

[ Picture ^ ]

PERSONALITY

Chez is an unethical and hyperactive demon. He is aggressive and inconsiderate to people he considers “below him.” Spoiler alert, that’s pretty much everyone.

He is temperamental and is a bit stupid.

Chez is also bossy to his older brother, acting like he knows everything and always is giving him sass, much to the annoyance of Cola. However, he still cares for him and wants to make him proud.

Chez is very reckless and used to look up to Subspace in the past, some of Subspace’s personality bleeding into Chez’s own and partially leading him to how he acts in the present.

He isn’t all bad though, as he’s passionate about the things he enjoys doing and is determined.

Chez is also very creative and hardworking, being very honest and blunt to others. He also holds a high ego, which takes time to shatter since he is hard-headed and stubborn.

These positive traits could be viewed as negative ones to some people.

He is somewhat respectful, mostly because he was forced to act like it. If he was given a chance he would be as disrespectful as he could ever. (But he can’t or else he’d be slapped and that would hurt.)

That’s about it, I think.

RELATIONSHIPS

Cola ;

Older brother who he cares for, despite not liking the things Cola forces him to do.

Slingshot ;

Chez thinks Slingshot’s Cafe is rivaling his “restaurant” so he has some type of hatred towards Slingshot. Though, said person couldn’t care less.

Subspace ;

Chez once looked up to Subspace, some of his personality and morals being influenced by Subspace. However, he later on stopped seeing Subspace as his role model. The reason why is unknown.

Ban Hammer ;

Chez hates this guy. He’s always having to run away from Ban Hammer and sometimes dreams of ripping his face off. Probably would lose if he tried to phight Ban Hammer though.

TRIVIA

One tried to sabotage Slingshot’s cafe and attempted to set the place on fire

Got caught and was sued

Always carries edible food everywhere he goes, this is because he is always hungry

His original color is yellow

Always sits on the edge of chairs

Would hate Gen Alpha slang

Probably has scoliosis

Loves karaoke but sucks at it

Eats the most atrocious food combos

Terrible at lying

Bro thinks he’s him

Do NOT give him Fizz Up!

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤

SIDE NOTES

updated 6/28/24

i’ll give more lore whenever lol

will be updated over time?

dumb guy

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: july 2023

I don't have a cool and witty opening for this one. I read a fuck of a lot of books this month and I want to tell you about them LET'S GO

Black Water Sister (Zen Cho, 2021) - Black Water Sister has a very fun premise: a closeted lesbian and unemployed recent graduate moves back to Malaysia with her parents and is already having a bad enough time when she starts hearing the voice of her dead grandmother, who turns out to have been deeply involved in supernatural organized crime. our hapless protagonist becomes a medium against her will, and has to navigate to world of Malaysian spirits and superstition to lay her grandma to rest. unfortunately the actual style of the story wasn't more me; although definitely adult fiction, the prose is breezy in a way I affiliate strongly with YA, which is not to my personal taste but is still so hashtag valid. if you're one of the countless people trying to make that jump from YA to adult fiction and you like queer urban fantasy then Black Water Sister might be a great fit for you, although I should provide a warning for a pretty surprisingly graphic near-rape in the book's climax that really took me by surprise in a story that's otherwise pretty zany in its violence.

The Bride Test (Helen Hoang, 2019) - I think I said last month that Alexis Hall's A Lady for a Duke was the best so far of the romance-novel-every-month scheme I'm trying to pull off this year. the Bride Test has pretty swiftly displaced it; have I finally discovered the really good romance novels? (worry not; I know what I'm reading for August and my hopes are. low.) our two protagonists, Mỹ/Esme (her chosen American/English name) and Khai, are both genuinely charming and are pretty strong characters independent of each other, which cannot be said for A Lot of romance protags. despite the absolute insanity of how they met (yes, Khai's mother went to Vietnam and offered, uneducated a poor single mother a tourist visa in exchange for trying to seduce her autistic son. yes, that's shady. don't think about it too hard) and Esme waiting until WAY too late in the game to reveal the existence of HER LIVING HUMAN CHILD, I liked this book a lot. it's silly and heartfelt and I had fun; what else do you need? 5/5 eggplant emojis.

Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin, 1956) - there's probably nothing I can say about Giovanni's Room that I could say that someone smarter and gayer hasn't already said, but god. it really is breathtaking. I so often see this book talked about as a gay tragedy, and honestly that feels like almost too glib of a description. it's a really meticulous dissection of white male masculinity and the claustrophobic constraints there of, and our narrator's claustrophobic fear of divesting himself from the power that he's entitled to by virtue of being a white American man perceived as a heterosexual. this man would rather live in repressed misery for his entire life than risk being like those effeminate faggots at the gay club, but spoiler alert! being miserable doesn't make you better than your fellow fags; it just means you're miserable AND a fag. sharp and painful and so so so smart. also I'm going to summon @zaricats because I was supposed to tell you what I thought about this book. oops!

Lone Women (Victor LaValle, 2023) - okay so listen. did I just say Black Water Sister wasn't really for me because of the simplistic prose? yes. did I really enjoy the very sparse, straightforward style of Lone Women? also yes. leave me alone, I contain contradictions. anyway, Lone Women is a ripping piece of historical fiction spliced with supernatural secrets, based on LaValle's research into 19th century Black women homesteaders who made their lives in Montana. LaValle opens on a scene of irresistible intrigue - Adelaide Henry, lone woman, sets out for Montana with a mysteriously heavy trunk after burning down her family's California farm with her parents' mutilated corpses inside. and boy, does it escalate from there! it's a story about isolation and community and the people who are failed by so-called close knit small towns, and the ways in which vulnerable people band together to protect one another. it also makes the compelling point that maybe, just maybe, the real monsters were your local transphobe and her husband's lynch mob all along.

Black Disability Politics (Sami Schalk, 2022) - what a cool book! Schalk's argument begins with the idea that Black disability politics are distinct from predominantly white mainstream disability politics, and are therefore often overlooked in conversation, activism, and academia. Schalk analyzes the historical work of the Black Panthers and the National Black Women's Health Project to showcase what she describes as Black disability politics in action. in Schalk's conception, Black disability politics take a much more holistic approach to disability, conceptualizing as just one form (and, frequently, as a result of) of oppression tangled up with a myriad of others that cannot be meaningfully addressed when they're treated as separate issues. the book concludes in interviews with contemporary Black disability activists and organizers that shed light on ways in which the wider movement is often unwelcoming to folks of color, and an exhortation from Schalk for readers to continue the conversation well beyond the confines of the book. in a killer show of praxis, the entire book has been made available to read in PDF form, and I strongly recommend giving it a look!

The River of Silver (S.A. Chakraborty, 2022) - mentally I am kicking myself a little for waiting so long to read this continuation of my beloved Daevabad trilogy, because it did take me a minute to get back into the swing and mythology of the world and that did make me feel unpleasantly like I wasn't appreciating these character-focused short stories as much as I could be. but even having said that - man! fuck I love the world of Daevabad, and I adore these characters so much. getting to see them again, even briefly, was a delight, and I am once again congratulating Nahri and Ali on being the invention of heterosexual romance. (also, on a related note, but I ADORE the way Chakraborty writes her characters having crushes. they crush SO hard and it's very sweet. these books are such big drama all the way down.)

Men We Reaped (Jesmyn Ward, 2013) - an absolute powerhouse of a memoir, and devastating the whole way down. in Men We Reaped Ward attempts to make sense of a series of tragedies that befell her community when five young Black men - beginning with Ward's younger brother - died between 2000 and 2004. the word 'unflinching' is hopelessly played out, but it's difficult to figure out how to describe the head-on way Ward explores each young man's life and ultimate end and her own upbringing. the men in Ward's history - her brother, the friends she lost, her father and other male relatives - are never idealized; their demons, miseries, infidelities, addictions, and violence are placed on full display. but Ward is also insistent on displaying these men with dignity, compassion, empathy; showing them at their best and, most importantly, as men who were loved and deserved better than the violence that poverty and racism wrought on them. it's a furious memoir, one that will leave you mourning too.

Nimona (ND Stevenson, 2015) - did I only read this so I can make more informed complaints if/when I end up watching the netflix movie with my wife? YES. but listen, it wasn't JUST petty hater behavior. Nimona is just really good, and I think I got a lot more out of it this time around that I did when I first read it years ago. this comic is wild and unfettered and so spectacularly weird; I wish more things felt the way Nimona does. I also with more things starred small girls begging to kill cops and stage a violent overthrow of the government, that rules hard. also man I love Ballister, he's SUCH a good protagonist. he's curmudgeonly, he's deeply principled, he's held a grudge for years, he's paternal, he's even gay. what a guy!

[imthefailedartist]

There's really only diminishing returns on The Strangers sequels.

It's a small diner with large ass windows. Were you not looking at your car to see if someone went under the hood.

This is why you always stop where there's multiple fast food chains. Especially an Arby's. Not McDonald's! Even the most bum fuck nowhere town has McDonald's, but only towns of select size have Arby's.

With the original, they had stakes because their relationship was fraught. Making them cloyingly happy does nothing. Unless they are going to work extremely hard to keep that happiness. Spoiler alert: they don't even try.

The conflict is right there. She might get a job in a new state. He's a marriage guy she's not a marriage girl.

Spoilers below. . . I guess. It's a "slasher" and the third film. You know what's coming

What was the point of the rude ain't married yet scene if it's not something they're worried about.

10,000 is civilization. 2,000 to 9,000 is small town quaint. 1,000 or less is you naked on all fours and being told to "squeal for me fat boy".

Oh girl, no, he got asthma. He can't protect you, he can't even breathe right.

Why is the town so suspicious.

Creepy stranger continuously ringing doorbell in middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, and hearing creepy sounds procedes to prance around in panties and socks, plays music and smokes weed.

Pants and shoes. Put them on.

Opening the door. Big no no.

Stepping outside even bigger no no.

In ya damn panties.

Put on your Goddamn pants and shoes.

Passes the kitchen butcher block full of knives to hide in the bathroom. "We need weapons."

See I would just burn the cabin down. With all of us in it. Pete just gon have to see my insurance.

Why does this cabin have an upstairs if it's not going to factor into the movie.

Who returns to a dark house and don't call out?

Also, that motorcycle was loud as hell she couldn't hear it.

They are the dumbest.

Under the house was smart. Everything they did after was very dumb.

Too much in-house unseen lurking. It stopped being scary.

They aren't even trying.

What was that, not mormon mormon pamphlet?

Not him trying to gaslight her mere hours after he had a meltdown over the locals allegedly scamming them.

The water bottle. Are you fucking kidding me.

The person who made this clearly doesn't have asthma. He'd have been better off pouring the water on his shirt and breathing through that. And it's quiet.

The music cues. My god, stop.

I knew this movie was going to be bad when it opened with text, implying it was sort of a true story.

But let's be honest. We knew this was going to be bad when the strangers talked in the trailers. My first thought hearing their voices, "Oh, they talk now, that sucks."

Shoot her!!! Why are you talking?

Why the fake out with him coming back being creepy?

They would've been better off sleeping in their car.

These characters are so dumb I truly thought this was a cold beginning à la Scream, for much too long. I'm talking he still hasn't come back from the late night dinner run long.

RIP AirBNB dude. The cabin was nice.

This movie is too big. I don't need to see them stopping at a diner full of weird townsfolk, I don't need to see a mormon, not mormon cult. I don't need to see a motorcycle being blown up. Just get em in the cabin and let the "haunting" begin.

If you're going to show me the town. Him going back to town, specifically, make it count. I thought he was gonna sit for a minute and have a beer all while the Strangers really torture her mentally. For him to come back and find her cowering, and the shit really kicks off.

Why are they so loud. At no point are they quiet.

"They caught us." Yeah, you didn't make it very hard.

Wait a minute. This takes place well after the first one. Why is it chapter one? You know what, don't tell me. I don't care.

Sackmans car is still running. Get in it. Drive.

I need movie characters to understand they'd get a lot further in the woods by walking.

At some point, these characters were so stupid I forgot this movie takes place in modern-day.

I was like, oh yeah, this is the 50's they thought the world was safer.

Do they just stab them one time in the original. Is that how it ended? I guess it was scarier because they really were just there doing this for no reason. This movie makes too many suggestions.

Maybe this is just me being nostalgic for the first one and how I felt watching it. Maybe the couple is just as dumb. Who knows? I haven't watched it in a few years.

What the fuck was that end credit scene? It ain't like they ghosts or demons.

She lived. Okay, so what? It's not like she knows who they are.

I know these characters have to be this dumb on purpose. Why a person would want to base their whole movie around them is beyond me. It does not make an enjoyable watch. Not even for the fun of it, that only works if your characters aren't total dumbasses and the audience is in on the stupid.

There's a way to make your characters so unbelievably dumb that it's fun. But the Strangers franchise is not that place to do that.

[dixidin]

Genshin impact hcs for every nation pt.2

Liyue edition!

Info: OOC? Mentions of other characters, writing sucks, sorry if I get some lore wrong with some characters! Fyi, none of this is cannon besides the occasional lore mentions

Baizhu: Whenever the cold winters of Liyue roll around, Baizhu has to make sure that both him and Changsheng are cozy because if they don't. They both can fall ill very quickly. Baizhu normally wraps a scarf around his neck so both him and Changsheng are warm due to the fact that Changsheng normally wraps around Baizhu's neck

Beidou: Since Beidou wears an eyepatch, a lot of people have made theories on what's behind it. Is it just a regular eye? Does she have a terrible scar underneath? Is it due to a battle? Who did she fight? Spoiler alert: It's the first one, but she always gets a laugh out of the really crazy ones

Chongyun: Chongyun is secretly really good at checkers. He takes pride in it along with embarrassment since he has no clue how to play chess

Ganyu: Ganyu absolutely loves the quiet and hates loud noises, but there's this one sound that she will forever despise, and that is windchimes. Every time she hears them, she just wants to rip it off of the ceiling and break all the metal bars in half. Of course, she never does, but she'll immediately leave if she hears it. Heaven forbid someone gets her a windchime as a present

Hu tao: Being a director of a funeral parlor and talking with ghosts for a long time somewhat impacts your vision on mortals, so Hu tao has grown a sixth sense of reading people. She can tell whether they're lying, worried, or pretending to be fine whenever they are fuming with anger. Sometimes, it gets a bit bad that she misses out on social cues

Keqing: With the large amount of paperwork Keqing puts on herself, she offen gets hands cramps. Sometimes, they get so bad that she has to take a break for a few minutes so the bones of her hands don't feel like they're about to break apart

Ningguang: Since Ningguang is the richest person in Tevyat, she occasionally spends her mora on random items just for the fun of it. Her favorite items she's bought over the recent years are candles. She's grown so attached to it that she's started up a collection

Qiqi: Since Qiqi needs a notebook to remember everyone she's met, Yaoyao decided one day that she would help Qiqi with the notebook, decorating it in cute stickers, highlighters, doodles, and occasional photographs

Shenhe: Shenhe has dissociative amnesia, specifically generalized. This means that she offen forgets where she went, what she did, who she spoke to, what she experienced, or even who she is

Xiangling: Xiangling, being the spicy cook herself, she doesn't actually check how much spices she puts in her food for the customers. Does she still use measuring cups? Yes, but sometimes they can be a bit overfilled

Xiao: When all of the yakshas were still around. Normally, the girls would help Xiao with his red eye makeup, only after they died tragically. The last yaksha had to learn how to do his own makeup, to say it was hard... was an understatement. Xiao eventually went to Zhongli for help, the geo archon being met with a sad Xiao, looking at the floor with messy red eye makeup. Don't worry, Zhongli taught Xiao, and he got the hang of it

Xingqiu: Xingqiu secretly has a condition called vasovagal syncope, which means that his body makes him pass out whenever he gets injected with a needle. Before, he thought he had a fear of needles, but when he saw Baizhu about it, he told the young writer that he actually had vasovagal syncope. Which made much more sense to Xingqiu afterward

Xinyan: Xinyan secretly loves having fun on playgrounds, but especially the swings. Whenever she comes across a playground with swings, she'll immediately stop what she's doing, run up, and try to get as high as she could

Yanfei: When in the chasm with the rest of the group, Yanfei actually got slight burn scars when fighting off those enemies due to how hard she was hitting her fireball

Yaoyao: You would expect Yaoyao to be another one of those kids whose toys are all dirty from dragging them around in the mud or one of those kids who forgets their stuffed animal, but Yaoyao is the complete opposite! She always double checks that Yuegui is in her basket, and she doesn't have to worry about Yuegui getting dirty since it's easily washable

Yelan: Whenever Yelan gets bored from time to time, getting stuck dealing with paperwork instead of going out on fun adventures. She'll train her hand to do neat tricks with her pen. She's gotten so good at it to the point where she'll zone out while her fingers mechanically rapidly spin around her pen

Yunjin: The reason why Yunjin's stage is normally warm colors with lantern lights in the background is because she can't stand flashing lights. It makes her feel dizzy, and she can never concentrate

Zhongli: Being an archon, over the years, Zhongli has come to be an expert in fashion. Just take a look in the history books and see some of the outfits he's worn! People have sometimes begged him to let him help them with fashion, but that's Zhongli's secret talent and only his. No if's or but's

If you repost this on another website, please give credit. Any like or repost is greatly appreciated -dixidin

Tags:

[just-call-mefr1es]

quick tbp x thg ramble so it makes sense (i had a conversation with myself while pacing my bedroom about this so i need to write about it)

cw: spoilers for the hunger games and blood/gore mention!! (i dont think its that heavy, but still)

okay, so in the actual HunGER GAMES, book and movie (well i don’t remember if this was actuallyin the book, but whatever) Johanna takes out Katniss’ tracker in the qq3 so that the capitol can’t track her when d13 saves her, and so on and so forth. also, it could also be because they didnt save peeta and johanna cause they probably didnt have their trackers romoved, therefore d13 didn’t save them. annie’s a different story but im not gonna talk about her rn (i stil love her very much tho dont get me wrong💗). even though im not 100% sure if thats the main reason for them not saving peeta n johanna (but im sure it may be A reason), since its been a hot minute since ive read/watched thg and i may have forgotten something, so yeah there.

And how does this play into my tbp x thg au? well,,,, (turns on geek mode) d13 reached out to billy first, since they thougth he was capable enough to get finney&friends™️ to d13 somewhat safely. with this, he was obviously instructed to remove their trackers, so he did as he was told. well, he tried. he told vance about the plan after he realized how kuch he was willing to sacrifice for bruce and griffin, and soon enough, the others,and since he thought he was more capable of doing the act of removing the trackers (you have to actually GET IT OUT of your arm, for those who didn’t know) than he was. Vance said sure, but removed his own tracker first. Why? cause he knew it was a painful process and billy urged him to. anygays, billy got finney’s tracker out, but he and vance had a hard time getting robin, griffin and bruce’s out cause

1. Finney would not fucking leave robin’s side, and everyone knew that he would probbalh go berserk if they even tried to touch robin, let alone CUT OUT A GASH ON HIS ARM. (btw, billy cut out finney’s arm during that same time period that johanna did for katniss in the movie and/or book if it happened at the same time (my memory is trash))

2., because vance was so hesitant to potentially harm Griffin and Bruce. Yes, he knew it was for their own good, but at the same time. He had to cut out the specific section of the arm, and he thought that if he did that, then Bruce amd Griffin would think he was kust that merciless killer the capitol made him to be. Plus, he couldn’t just *tell* them why he was gonna do what he was gonna do, cause the capitol was watching their every move. billy kept urging vance to do it when their time in the arena was nearing to the end, and vance just waved him off, saying that he will soon (spoiler alert, he didn’t.)

so yeah, that’s why bruce griff and robin got stuck in the capitol, and another reason vance blames himelf (hes not okay guys). when the rescue team set out to rescue the three, they were obviously more confident to take out their trackers (i know for sure that the capitol gave them new ones) compared to vance and did NOT hesitate ripping em out (they needed to get out of there quickly).

wowe that took a while to type. sorry not sorry @meepmoopweeeeeeeeeee

[bettyfair]

Waiting for Hockney.

Here goes nothing... In 2008 a documentary was released that changed my life. It has 6.5/10 stars on IMDB and one of the three comments on the trailer reads "The guy seems like a desperate hack".

I've not watched it 10 years and it has no Wikipedia entry for me to check my recollections. Here is my review.

The film opens with voice over reading a letter addressed to the titular Hockney. Billy Pappas is our man, we don't know him yet but he reads his own words as if they've been smeared on the walls in his own excrement. "The vehicle for the spirit of urgency and intensity which occupies my being is drawing" he reads, his own letter displayed in its all caps glory. What does that mean? Fucked if I know.

Billy goes into some minor detail about his art work that he wishes to show Hockney - an incredibly detailed portrait that took him just shy of 9 years to finish. That's right - a portrait that took nearly a decade.

He works standing up, drawing under 20x magnification, later he will describe a months work as taking place within a printed full stop. He talks about how he reeducated himself on all aspects of drawing. Eye school, ear college, left cheek university. Billy graduated from them all.

At the start of the documentary (I think) he's finished the portrait. Supported over the years by his mother, a local vicar (or whatever Americans call them) and a man who has Dr before his name. At the end of the documentary Billy will say they've supported him to the tune of $300k. They enable him to work day in and day our on his obsession, fixating intensely on small details in the search for greatness. His mother is anxious and overbearing.

The film doesn't show you the work until (spoiler alert) Hockney sees it himself. It does however reveal very early on that this portrait is of Marilyn Monroe - the superstar actress who died some 40 years before his portrait even began. Alarm bells ring already, he's drawing from a photograph?

He wants to bring the photo something that it doesn't have, a presence. He chose her why? Because she represents fame and all it's over exposure? He chose this photo because it's blurry. Make it make sense.

The details are hazy on me, my number one recollection is the anxiety the film makes you feel. Billy puts Marilyn and Hockney on such a pedestal, throughout the film the portrait is referred to as 'Marilyn' as if he has created beyond art and into life itself. 'She' represents his obsession and 10 years of his life, 7 hours a day he gave to her standing up in his mothers spare room using a homemade sling to rest his tired arms. I cannot bare it. It terrifies me.

The last 15/20 mins of the film are a hard watch. He finally shows his creation to Hockney and his entourage, one man in particular speaks for Hockney - a rodent looking man who for sure thinks himself better than you. He expertly rips into Billy's work, and by that, also into Billy himself. You see 'Her' for the first time and you are underwhelmed, a perfectly passable drawing that, had he drew it in one day, I would have said 'Holy shit!' knowing it took 10 years, well, still 'Holy shit' just not in the same way. She merges into herself, and you see so clearly how little Billy brought to the table. There is nothing about her, nothing that has not been captured by the 1000's of other artworks, pictures and sculptures of her that came before. "Have you ever thought of doing a quicker sketch?" Hockney asks.

So many of Billy's shortcomings are within his masterpiece: an emptiness despite such attention to detail. He cannot understand the world around him, he gives so much of himself that it makes me uncomfortable, yet at the same time there is so little revealed of him and nothing said that matters. It's like he whipped his shorts off just to reveal his bare, smooth ken-doll like genitals.

Rodent man laments on how you cannot notice the detail in 'Her', in a gallery it would not be clear or visible.

10 years of Billy's life - 8 and a half on Marilyn, 1 and a half getting her to Hockney, concluded in underwhelm. Rodent man calls Billy naive, of the art world he says "that's not his world" although I don't think he needed to be specific to just the art world. Why did he pick Marilyn he asks? Not to Billy obviously, because really - deep down - Billy doesn't know.

Is this art? Not the drawing no, but why does this picture weigh so heavy on me? I could not have this in my house - it's too valuable. It represents everything to Billy, it represents his need for approval and his desperation: it intimidates me. Billy has this burning desire for approval from someone else, something we all have. I badly want people to tell me i'm cool and that my fringe makes me look AT LEAST 40% less like a primary school teacher with a well organised set of felt tip pens. Billy dedicated 10 years of his life to that approval, even before knowing he didn't get it, it made me uneasy. It's the desperation right? I think it's the lack of awareness that kills me most, i'm not convinced by Billy at the end of the film - allegedly coming to terms with life after Marilyn. He doesn't seem to have learnt the core message of the film, which I feel is - hey! Don't put your life into another persons hands you smooth dicked fuckwit!

After all this we see Billy in his car reading the dictionary. He tells us he usually travels with 3 dictionaries on him. He wants to focus on the words and the meanings and he describes himself as obsessed. I don't think Billy knows what he means by that, but he's not wrong. Later he gets a job as a bartender and is pleased with $40 that he heads home with. His mother defends him with her life. Marilyn rests in her basement.

[suhmayzooka]

i’m like one of the people i know who actively reads precrisis age batman comics, so i’m going to try to convince the rest of you to join me. i wholeheartedly believe 90% of the batfandom will like precrisis batdad. 

“i wish WFA was canon” i wish golden age batdad was canon.

anyway. let’s talk about the story “bruce wayne loses guardianship of dick grayson” from batman #20.

dick’s “””aunt””” and “”“uncle””” (spoiler: they’re actually evil) show up and take bruce wayne to court over guardianship of dick grayson. of course, dick does not want to be taken from bruce, with whom “mutual affection between this man and boy has been as strong as that between father and son!” 

on the cover, we can see robin’s teary face as he’s dragged away from batman in court. very dramatic. 

we open to this lovely scene between said “father and son”, only to be interrupted by alfred alerting them that they have visitors. fuck visitors, alfred! bruce and dick are in their pajamas in the middle of a pillow fight! i hope dick’s winning.

[the wayne home is a happy home, for in it lives a happy trio! one day...]

A: mornin’, mawster dick! beg pardon, mr. wayne... but a gentleman and a lady are waitin’ downstairs!

D: haw! haw! you missed by a mile! hi, alfred!

B: visitors? okay, alfred, we’ll be down as soon as we haul on some clothes!

FYI this is how alfred’s dialogue is always written in these comics. british.

also. just. “the wayne home is a happy home, for in it lives a happy trio!” okay! okkayy!

.... not all is happy in the wayne home, though. “uncle george” and “aunt clara” are here and ready to take dick away! but bruce won’t let them go so easily!

D: no! i won’t go with you! bruce... don’t let them take me! 

B: you can’t take dick away now! not after all these years! he’s like a son! i won’t let you!

just look how protective bruce is. that’s his boy!! that’s his son!!! 

they go to court, and bruce pleads not to lose dick. dick is similarly upset. look how dark and edgy batman is grrrr i am the night vengeance grrrrr

[in a strained voice, bruce adds his testimony...]

B: dick is like my own son! i’ve even changed my will so that in the case of my death, dick will get my entire fortune! your honor, I... I love that boy! please don’t take him from me!

[dick is called...]

D: and when mom and pop died in the circus, I was all alone! then bruce... mr. wayne took me in! a fella couldn’t want a better friend!

okay: 1. bruce says “I LOVE THAT BOY.” 

2. what’re the chances bruce is including the batman mantle in his will? also, dick is like... 10? he’s already left everything to dick? why not alfred, who’s, y’know, an adult?

unfortunately for our caped crusaders, the court rules that bruce must give up guardianship since he’s an irresponsible playboy. fortunately for us batfamily angst enjoyers, this means we get to see bruce absolutely DESTROYED over the loss of dick

*bruce and dick tearfully hugging*

D: golly, bruce... it’s no use pretending! i don’t know how i’m going to stand it!

B: easy, dick... be a good soldier!

uh.. gee, bruce, what a normal thing to say to your kid! “good soldier” i sure hope those words never come back to bite you in the ass! 

*bruce watching dick walk off with his “aunt” and “uncle”

B: goodbye, kid, goodbye...

B: it’s going to be hard, alfred! 

A: yes, sir! this house won’t be the same without him!

B: in order to cover up my batman work, I had to pretend to be a playboy. And now it’s made me lose the person I love the most! it isn’t fair! it isn’t fair!

anyone else feel your heart ripped out rn? bruce admitting dick is the person he loves the most? also, those panels remind me of when dick goes off to college in batman #217 

[and so it is that the batman, who started his career alone, once hunts down crime—alone!

B: i certainly am going to miss robin... and those corny puns he’d yell whenever he’d wallop a thug!

aww he misses robin’s puns :( he’s so sad guys 

thankfully, robin isn’t gone! he swoops in and helps batman get the bad guys.

D: looks like my footprint is “lion” on your chin... and I’m not “lion”! Oh! corny puns, eh, batman?

B: corny? maybe to you, but to me—they’re beautiful!!

he’s so proud of his boy

uh blah blah the aunt and uncle are actually evil, batman find himself in dire peril, dick and alfred team up to save the day, etc etc

*alfred holds the villain as robin punches him*

A: neatly done, mawster robin!

[and in a wooden shack on an empty lot...]

D: where did fatso take the batman? talk!

bad guy: i don’t know nothin’!

A: he seems a bit stubborn, sir! might i suggest a method of loosening his tongue? we might just leave him here in the dark, sir! there’s nothing around to harm him—just some, er, big rats!

D: splendid! maybe they’ll gnaw at his conscience!

bad guy: hey! wait a minute! i’ll talk! i’ll talk!

christ, alfred! don’t mess with the butler. he could’ve killed bane with that attitude.

thankfully, all goes well, the bad guys are defeated with the power of the Batfamily, and bruce regains guardianship of dick... because batman convinced the judge. gotham has a great fair justice system. someone get harvey dent here

judge: mr wayne, dick is yours again! incidentally, i’m inclined to agree with the batman! he visited me before and said that in spite of your playboy activities, you were really a good man!

B: well... of all people, he should know... eh, dick?

D: and how!

a happy ending for our little family <3 

[maria021015]

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 14 AHEAD!

When Zaida next opened her eyes, her vision was shrouded in darkness and the pungent odour of rotting trash filled her senses. Reaching out with her arms she felt and heard plastic shift beneath her fingers and with a lurch in her stomach she realised where she was. That bitch had thrown them in the dumpster. Zaida got her knees beneath her somehow, managing to crouch atop the garbage and reach upwards for the lid. With a hard push she swung the lid open and cool, fresh air greeted her. The only thing that alerted her to just how much time had passed was the fact that the sun had gone down. She wasted no time in hauling herself out of the dumpster and gagging at the state of her clothes and hair. This was easily the most disgusting thing that had ever happened to her. She swept her hair away from her face and felt for where Erica had smashed the metal into her head. She couldn’t even feel a bump.

Stiles came to consciousness after several minutes of her reaching into the dumpster, shaking him and calling his name. When he finally jerked back to life and saw where he was he growled in exasperation, “Bitch.”

“Still think she’s hot?” Zaida raised a brow pointedly and helped him back to solid ground. “We reek. I need to stand under a boiling shower until my outer layer of skin burns off.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she ripped a very important part out of Roscoe. We’re not going anywhere.” Stiles grumbled and Zaida furrowed her brows at him.

“Roscoe?” she repeated. “You named your Jeep, ‘Roscoe’?”

“Says the girl who can’t even drive yet. Complain about it when you actually have a car.” he scoffed.

“Okay, well your car isn’t exactly of much use right now.” she shot back and picked an orange peel out of her messy ponytail. She waited, sat on the curb, as Stiles called a tow-truck to pick them and the Jeep up.

“Xander is going to kill me when I get home.” she sighed when Stiles joined her, sitting beside her. “How am I going to explain the fact that I smell like a literal racoon’s feast?”

“You can tell him you’re staying at Lydia’s and crash at mine? My Dad’s got the night shift and he won’t be home until after we’ve gotta leave for school tomorrow.” Stiles shrugged. She mulled it over for a moment before reluctantly agreeing.

“Fine, but I call the first shower.” she sighed and wrinkled her nose up at the smell that was emanating from them both. The mechanic didn’t take more than ten minutes to arrive with the tow-truck. He may not have said anything about the smell when they got into the back of his car, but the expression on his face said it all and Zaida sank lower in the seat in shame. She hated smelling bad.

When they arrived at the mechanic’s workshop - some place called Tucker’s Garage - the mechanic (possibly Tucker himself) hoisted the Jeep into the air with the hydraulic lift and began working on it immediately.

“Hey! Hey? Wh-what do you think you're doing? All I needed was a starter!” Stiles protested when he realised the man was working on something different to what they’d come here for.

“Yeah, but it looks like your whole exhaust system has gotta be replaced here.” The man explained without glancing at them.

“Why do I get the feeling you're slightly overestimating the damage?” Stiles commented suspiciously.

“It's probably gonna run you around like twelve-hundred in parts and labor.” The mechanic shrugged and Stiles went pale.

“Are you kidding? This thing doesn't have a catalytic converter!” Stiles gasped in disbelief before sighing. “And yes, I know what a catalytic converter is.”

“Do you know what a ‘limited slip differential’ is?” The man asked condescendingly and his attitude rubbed Zaida completely the wrong way. Sure, she appreciated his help and him not saying anything about how bad they smelled, but he didn’t have to rip them off. Stiles went quiet, clearly not knowing what it was. “Yeah, it's coming on more like fifteen-hundred.”

“A limited slip differential distributes power equally to both the right and left rear tires.” Zaida decided to step in. “I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with the exhaust system. Quite frankly, you’re bullshitting us, so just work on what absolutely needs to be fixed - the starter, which is what we came here for.”

“Yeah, what she said.” Stiles nodded enthusiastically, staring at Zaida with wide eyes and then storming off to the waiting area. “I'll be back here, seething with impotent rage!”

When they were out of earshot of the mechanic he turned to Zaida with an impressed expression. “I didn’t know you were into cars.”

“I’m not, I’ve just seen ‘My Cousin Vinny’ too many times. He could have asked me any other question and I wouldn’t have had a clue. He was just unlucky he picked the one thing that I did know.” she shrugged with a satisfied smile in her victory. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna see if this place has a bathroom.”

She left Stiles to exit the workshop as she slipped into a nearby restroom and locked the door behind her. She could vaguely hear Stiles yelling a complaint about the establishment through the heavy wooden door, but the sound was considerably muffled. The bathroom wasn’t exactly clean by any means, but it also wasn’t disgusting. At least, not as disgusting as a dumpster. She wiped down the sink with toilet paper and hand soap before leaning her head over the bowl and running hot water through her hair. She just wanted to rinse as much of the smell off her as possible. She could hear the loud sounds of the mechanic’s machines at work and hoped that he wasn’t adding additional unnecessary services to rack up the bill.

In the cupboard below the sink was a roll of garbage bags to change out the trash can and she ripped one from the roll and opened it. She then peeled her jumper off her body and shoved it in there, being left with just her short-sleeved top underneath. There wasn’t anything that could be done about her pants, but at least the smell was marginally better than before. She grabbed an almost empty can of air freshener from on top of the toilet and sprayed the remaining substance all over her lower half, trying to obscure the scent as much as possible. It would have to do until she was able to shower. She exited the bathroom to find the workshop suspiciously quiet and empty. Stiles’ Jeep had been lowered to the ground and both the mechanic and the boy were completely out of sight. Zaida exited through the slightly ajar door into the waiting area - which was just a short corridor - only to see a familiar figure collapsed on the floor. Her stomach twisted and her heart jumped against her rib cage.

“Stiles!” She rushed towards him, noticing his phone on the floor beside him with its screen lit up on an open phone call with 911. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“It’s here Zaida.” he whispered in response so the phone wouldn’t pick up on his voice, nothing moving but his facial muscles.

“What’s here?” she questioned in hushed tones, eyes darting around for any signs of danger as she crouched beside him, knees pressing into the hard, cold floor. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

“The mechanic…” He stuttered through heavy breaths as the panic set in. “It paralysed him…lowered the Jeep…he was crushed.”

“Paralysed?” she repeated and raised her brows. “Are you paralysed? How?”

“There was slime on the door handle…a clear slime…” he explained, feeling his fingertips and toes start to tingle as they gradually began to regain feeling.

“Oh my God, I don’t know what to do. What do I do?” she started to panic, but seeing Stiles in such a vulnerable state was new to her. When everything had happened that night in the school, and on the Lacrosse field, the thing that had kept her grounded had been his calmness in the face of danger. She couldn’t allow herself to spiral when he now needed her. She owed him that much, so she took long, deep, stabilising breaths until she got her racing heart relatively under control. “Okay, it’s going to be okay. The police are on their way and I’m pretty sure that thing is gone. Just keep trying to move until you get feeling back. It’ll be pretty difficult to explain to the cops why you’re paralysed.”

Zaida managed to heave Stiles’ deceptively heavy body up and onto a chair in the corridor. “Do you…” she cleared her throat when her voice came out squeaky. “Do you want to count with me?”

With what little capacity he had, Stiles nodded, so she began. Five things. “The carpet is dark grey. The writing on the window is yellow. The chairs are black. The lights are so cool-toned, they’re almost blue. The red of your jacket matches the signage.”

Four things. She reached out and brushed the lump on his temple lightly. “Can you feel that?” she asked, and he nodded with a slight wince. “Let me know when you can feel it.”

Zaida then squeezed his shoulder, but he gave her no reaction, so she trailed her touch lower down his arm, pausing at his bicep when he hummed in acknowledgement. She then shifted her hand to his leg, pressing lightly against his thigh. Again, no reaction, but when she reached his knee he nodded, going through his breathing exercises with no sound other than the air moving in and out of his nose and mouth. That was three, and for her last touch she gripped his hand tightly and felt him clutch her back. She didn’t let go.

“You’re getting better.” she reassured him in a soothing voice. Three things. “I can hear the lights buzzing, and the cars driving by on the street, and…” Zaida trailed off when she couldn’t think of a third thing. The creature that had attacked the mechanic…if it wasn’t still here, where was it now?

“Your voice.” Stiles managed to say, his words slightly gravelly and rough. Something about hearing her voice was calming in and of itself. “You have a nice voice…almost melodic.”

Her lips parted in surprise at his compliment and despite the chill in the air and the goosebumps and shivers rippling across her bare arms, she felt a slight glow of warmth within her. It was the second time he had said that to her. She cleared her throat once more before continuing. Two things. “This place smells like gas…and we still smell like garbage.” That one earned a slight chuckle from the boy, and she was glad to hear it. “I don’t have any gum, but if I focus real hard I think I can actually taste how badly we stink.” she continued, and Stiles seemed noticeably calmer when he turned his head to smile at her with watery amber eyes in appreciation of her efforts. He was glad that he didn’t have to wait for the police alone and helpless. Stiles didn’t say it, but once again he was relieved that she was by his side.

[paranoidpoltergeist]

Transformers: Cyberverse Review (2/2)

So I finally watched cyberverse and figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and do my review while I was at it instead of having to rewatch it later. This ended up being so much longer than I expected and I tried to look back over it to the best of my ability but I wrote these directly after finishing each season so at some very odd hours of the day if anything is worded weirdly sorry about that. Please keep in mind this is my opinion and you might not agree:) Season 3:

Lemme start this off by saying I was so excited to see G1-Esque Laserbeak again but the absolute BUTCHERING of my boy drifts character. I was so sad dude, let him have his redemption arc:( plus Hot Rod, Cheetor, and Shockwave dying?! Not even right. I also lied because episode 5 of this season is the most confusing thing I’ve ever seen. I am so completely lost. How is Hot Rod back? What is even happening? Is that squid thing a Quintessons? Two of which were partially answered. Next episode we find out what happened with Hot Rod and you’ll notice one great detail here that was missing from season 2 THEY EXPLAIN WHAT WAS GOING ON.

 So far the pacing feels a lot better even if the random time skip is a bit odd, BUT WIRL IS HERE AND HE’S GREAT. STUNTICONS well Stunticon, Dead End is great, I love his design even though I had no idea it was him at first. I don’t know if Hot Rod's voice actor had a cold or something while they were recording this but he was just constantly whispering and it made it so hard to take him seriously bc he’d be yelling somebodies name and it just sounded so flat. I didn’t think I’d like Perceptor at first but I ended up liking him a lot, Soundwave as always was great. I figure I’ll have a soft spot for this version for a long time, now if they’d just let him have all his cassettes back.

 As of episode 12, Skywarp has been name-dropped once, and while I think I know which one she is she hasn’t been introduced yet and I’m on my hands and knees absolutely begging rn PLEASE let us have Skywarp. SPOILER ALERT SHE NEVER SAYS ANYTHING. I am devastated, Skywarp has got to be one of my favorite characters so every time I hear his name mentioned anywhere near a show or movie I get straight giddy bc we see Skywarp less than TC which honestly is a feat so you can imagine how sad I was when after being name-dropped AS THE COMMANDER she doesn’t get a single voice line. Finally, get TC and Warp and have them ripped away. L. In other news, have I mentioned that Starscream’s upgrades are the goofiest yet? Because they are. Judge Starscream has got to be the single worst thing to come out of any piece of transformers media like ever.

 When I tell you I gasped when Megatron admitted he mistreated Starscream, never in a million years did I see that coming. I mean part of it is that Screamer got power-hungry, that his ambitions were too large, that he went a little crazy along the way, but part of it was that he was hurt. Does that excuse him deciding his entire world needed to be destroyed? No definitely not. I feel a character study coming along, but this isn’t the time or place so instead, I’LL TELL YOU HOW HYPED I WAS TO SEE ASTROTRAIN AND THE INSECTICONS. Hey, I’ll let you guess which faction is my favorite lol. The rest of this season is straight goofy and it’s mostly filler. Wild Wild Wheel, in particular, is one I want to touch on. It’s surprising how often the media does this but, as hurt as I know I’d be if I was left behind by my team I feel like you’d also have to realize well it’s war and casualties are in abundance. Someone goes missing and you usually have to assume they’re dead.  The last episode was a bit weird but it was alright. In the end, this season wasn't bad at all but I do wish they'd cut it off at episode 18 and said the rest was season 4 or something. 7/10

Season 4:

This season was weird and I loved it and hated it. The first episode was great but the second one dude I’m so sad. I wish Astrotrain had more screen time I feel like he could have been a super cool character but alas he’s the 207th Decepticon gone. They killed the entirety of high command I was clinging to Soundwave and they VAPORIZED HIM. The way he went out was so sick but man you could have let us have at least one. 

 Now to the actual review part. I loved the Dinobots it was a different take on their story and I liked it. Letting them be an actual combiner was cool but Soundblaster destroying literal planets over a beatbox competition is the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life. The story flowed pretty well honestly, though I almost immediately knew what they were doing when Tarn showed up. The look my mom gave when I screamed “IS THAT TARN?!” was great but I did NOT expect the Megatron bashing they had him do lol. It’s a little hard to compare this season with the others because it's so different but I liked it, it was enjoyable. 6.5/10

  

How my system works:

When I do these reviews I base them on a couple of things 1.) What made it different 2.) How enjoyable is it 3.) How’s the plot, pacing, character designs, etc? So while I might really like a character there’s still a chance I’ll dock points because they didn’t just create a new character altogether instead of just stealing a name.

What makes it different?

Most of the changes they made were good. I loved 90% of the design changes, I even really liked the way they used the plot and what we already know from the original story. As confusing as our initial time skip is, it's not hard to fill in the blanks with any other continuities time on earth. So we skip the stuff we already know and instead get new stuff, which kept me interested! However, this part could have been really hard to understand for new viewers. Their approach to the Quintessons was a tad weird but it worked so I’m not complaining. 7.5/10

How enjoyable is it?

It was pretty good. I liked it and despite them killing off half the characters I liked I never felt like throwing my phone down and not watching anymore. It kept me interested and for the most part, it wasn't way too easy to guess exactly what was gonna happen. The number of characters they’d name-drop just to never use physically hurt me and sometimes I’d get frustrated with how they used certain characters or how they set something up or their weird time skips but so I’d pause it, get up to grab some water or something and get right back to it. Which for me is pretty good. 6.5/10

How’s the plot?  

Despite the plotholes, the plot was good. They made it different but close enough I’d still be able to tell it's Transformers if they took away the name. Sometimes the way they won *cough* cybertroniansunitething *cough* was odd but all in all, it's fine. I thought the parade loop was creative and interesting to watch. The apocalypse part was honestly my favorite but I wish Hot Rod's frustration led to something. You win some you lose some ig. 6.5/10

How was the pacing?

The pacing was ok in most episodes. (I’m looking at you Sea of Tranquility) They managed to bring back the absolute mess I feared season 2 would be so I’m giving them points for that. Again the time skips can be weird but close to every episode BUT SEA OF TRANQUILITY THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE did a pretty good job closing up those gaps for us. 6/10

How were the character designs? 

I’ve already partially touched on this but it usually needs its own section so without further ado. Two-thirds of Starscream’s upgrades are the worst, most terrible horrifying things and I hate them with a burning passion. His original design however I liked and his voice actor did a great job. I liked almost everyone's designs until the Allspark got involved EXCEPT FOR JETFIRE whose design was just ok. I’m just kinda sad he wasn’t our gentle giant. That and he was really annoying, sorry anybody who liked him. 8/10 

 Overall: I think I have more conflicting feelings over this show than I do Micheal Bay's first TMNT movie, except its none of the low expectations or nostalgia and all mild confusion. This show is… weird, it was interesting and enjoyable despite Hasbro's never-ending fear of new characters. They took an old premise and made it new even if I can never forgive them for Judge Starscream, they kept the character designs reminiscent of G1 but still kept them fresh and I really liked it. I wish they used the Titans and Insecticons more or expanded on the multiverse part and it could have been interesting to see some of the other combiners. They might have had plans to use some of that before the show got canceled but we’ll never know. 

Overall score: 6/10

[dissneyadult]

came across an article the other day about an "undeserved redemption arc" in o.uat and i didnt read it bc i didnt want it to be about regina. and then i felt like getting angry tonight so i looked it up again (rant under the cut)

so yes, spoiler alert, the article IS about regina "not deserving" her redemption. but here's the thing.

YES, regina committed atrocities. she's guilty of murder, ravaging villages, poisonings, etc. but the regina who earns a redemption arc is NOT that regina (also something something you can get away with a LOT in fairy tales without crossing the line, ouat is a soap opera, etc).

regina is such a nuanced and flawed character and that shows from the get-go. it takes her a LONG time to even consider that she can change and be a good person. she's selfish. she wants power. she wants love. but she also hasn't ALWAYS been that way.

seeing her in her younger years is honestly kind of heartbreaking bc it's such a stark contrast to evil queen/1st season regina. she's kind and genuine and loving. in fact, SHE'S the one who tells snow that "love is the most powerful magic of all." she doesn't want the life her mother has arranged for her (becoming royalty, all-powerful, etc). she just wants to live her life. ffs she falls for the stable boy and wants to elope with Him!!! and even when that's ripped away from her, she doesn't "turn evil" right away.

she's devastated and heartbroken but she still tries. she tries so hard to escape because she KNOWS she'll be miserable and angry every day for the rest of her life if this keeps up. she's even a good mom to snow at first and she freaks out when she realizes she's having homicidal fantasies!!! she doesn't WANT to hurt people. she doesn't even really want to use magic because it means she'll be just like her mom!

hers is a story of a vicious cycle of abuse (and a cycle she tries Desperately to stop once she recognizes it). she's also an abuser, yes, but like the old addage goes, villains are Made. if not for her mom regina would be so normal!!!

all of this said, there is no excuse for her actions! directing her rage at snow, who was a CHILD when she "betrayed regina's trust," is absolutely ridiculous and i will never stop making fun of it. committing atrocities because of her lust for power and revenge is obviously inexcusable. but again! storybrooke regina is NOT evil queen regina!

i genuinely think her turning point was when she adopted henry. before she was the evil queen, she absolutely had good maternal instincts and would have made a great mother. adopting henry was definitely a bit selfish, especially because the idea came to her after she tried to kidnap and forcibly adopt a kid akfjsk, but i do think she had good intentions in the end. she struggles as a parent at first (as she puts it, she doesn't know how to love) and even considers giving henry back when she convinces herself that he doesn't love her.

but just before she does, she finally has a bonding moment with him. she's able to soothe him for the first time ever and that changes her mind. she isn't unlovable; this kid is a blank slate and he is finally starting to warm up to her. she loves henry ok that is her son.

but like...if it weren't for henry (and how much she loves him), i genuinely do not think regina would ever see the error in her ways. it is only when her child expresses disgust for her actions and reflects the ideals SHE had as a kid/teen that she starts to rethink everything. there's a whole ass episode where storybrooke regina adopts the techniques cora (her mom) used back in the day, but when she sees the toll it is taking on henry, she STOPS. she lets him go because she understands that she cannot force him to love her.

her redemption arc is a VERY slow burn, but that is Necessary. it wouldn't be satisfying if she decided out of nowhere that she wanted to be good- but she wants to be better for HENRY. henry makes her want to change. she wants to be a mom that he won't reject. she wants to be a mom he will love.

i'm not saying that she hasn't done horrible things- rewatching ouat with my husband is a fucking Trip because the change in regina as a person is so dramatic and crazy (and still feels earned/justified!!!)- but she did deserve the redemption arc she got, 1000%. seeing her fight with herself and try everything she can to "defeat" her evil self is legitimately heartbreaking. and like...

the point of her redemption isn't that her crimes are forgivable; the point is that, no matter what you've done in the past, you have the potential to change and be better. even the most heinous villain can become good. and i think that's a fantastic message!!!

i don't understand how ANYONE can say regina didn't earn the ending she did. she fought hard to earn her place in season 6's finale. she put the work in to genuinely better herself. she tries so fucking hard and i'm actually furious that anyone can diminish that effort as "undeserved."

TL;DR: regina is best girl and her redemption arc is fantastic and earned thank you for coming to my ted talk.